A Wish

Risette suddenly felt guilty of her actions. She stared at the air in utter surprise.

“Miss..?” Blind muttered.

“R-Risette! My name’s Risette..!” She dumbly said, “You were saying..?”

Blind paused for a bit then shook his head, “It’s nothing...”

Risette forced herself to get out of her internal stupor as she pulled along Blind to find an exit, “L-Let’s go..!”

~o0o0o~

“We’re almost there, Stein. Just a few more walks...” Lisa said as she helped in assisting Stein. She had a worried look written all over her face. Stein was teetering here and there. Lisa had to help watch out for Stein’s every steps to prevent further damages. Lisa scanned the woods then her eyes managed to catch one of her minions flying over. She let out a high-pitched whistle.

The minion flew over to their direction. The minion lay on one knee as though to heed the command.

“There should be angels and messengers nearby. Find them for me and request for assistance.” Lisa sternly commanded. She rolled her eyes then let out a scornful gaze, “I believe they’ll take that request if you said that it was from the supervisor, all right?” She said as she nodded in synch with her minion.

Lisa smirked, “Go.”

The minion flew away at its fastest speed.

She then looked back at Stein who was unconsciously collecting magic from the ground. She watched how the life of the plant decayed by Stein’s touch. Lisa felt a few sweat roll down her forehead. Stein was getting more and more critical by the minute. The longer Stein forces himself, the more unstable he gets.

The rate of absorption Lisa was seeing from Stein was a sign that she shouldn’t touch him so casually. Lisa looked around for something that could help her guide Stein through the woods and in to the designated area. Lisa suddenly felt like she fell into a pit when Stein almost fell if not for him grabbing the tree trunk—that had its life sucked away the instant Stein touched it.

“S-Stein, can you still go?” Lisa carefully asked. She wanted to help Stein steady himself but he was in critical mode, therefore she cannot help in assisting in any way possible. She tried to touch Stein only to have a portion of her skin to dry up then replenish itself the moment she removed her hand. She clicked her tongue at the level of impossibility. Lisa held out two fingers then had it in front of Stein, “Tell me. How many is this?”

Stein opened his eyes as wide as possible in order to see, “I say that you raise two but in all actuality, I cannot see.”

Lisa clicked her tongue again then bit the edge of her fingernail. She snapped her head to the nearby piece of wood then grabbed it in a breath, “Stein, I need you to hold on..!” She instructed as she put the wood near Stein’s personal space, “Listen, there’s a piece of wood I have for you to grab.” Lisa nodded accordingly as she saw Stein cooperate with her. She breathed carefully as though it was a very sensitive mission, “Now, I want you to be relaxed as possible...” She instructed. Stein nodded accordingly as he started to breath in and out.

Lisa saw Stein slowly grab for the wood then exhaled deeply. She gave a small sigh of relief when she saw the wood be devoured at a slower pace, “Next, all you have to do is to follow where this wood is leading you...” Lisa started to lead Stein to their designated area.

Lisa internally wanted to give Luke an earful for actually letting Stein move on his own even though he was fully aware of Stein’s condition. Luke told her not too long ago that Stein was going to force himself. Clearly, Luke knows what he was saying, but was he aware of his blunt actions? She shrugged off the idea then continued to assist.

They were moving at a slow pace, and if anything, it was wrecking. Two lives were on the line and none of them are in any good situation. Risette was trapped in a hidden location and to top it off, she was being harassed in some way they couldn’t imagine. Stein on the other hand wasn’t getting any better. He was suffering from too much magic loss and body fatigue. The two of them weren’t in any good condition, and that is a fact.

Lisa nearly fell after tripping from a rock. She let out a quiet curse—quiet enough for just her to hear. She looked at Stein who was oddly being quiet all of a sudden. He was leaning towards dead, Lisa mentally said to herself. Although he’s not going to die, he’s probably experiencing death so to speak. She let out a worried look as she saw how Stein was so determined in finding the girl.

“Say...” Lisa started. Knowing that Stein was in no condition to reply, she just continued, “Why are you obsessed with finding the girl?”

Stein heavily breathed out then tried to muster strength to move his lips, “H... heart...”

Lisa managed to catch Stein’s words, “Heart? What about the heart? Don’t tell me you were just after the heart!” She suddenly exclaimed.

Stein weakly shook his head in honest denial. He heavily breathed out again, “That was at first....” He trudged his feet to keep on moving, “.... but I keep falling..... When I see her smile......” His knees finally broke down as he fell to the ground.

Lisa immediately rushed to his aid, “That’s called being in love!” She explained as she refrained herself from touching ay part of Stein, “That’s a sign!” She added. Lisa then hardened her hands until they became metal-like. She took a deep breath then helped manage Stein to stand on his feet. She hissed at the contact between her hands and Stein’s body.

She can feel her magic getting sucked out from her hands.

The moment Stein found a good foothold and stand then Lisa jerked her hands away from him. She watched how her metal hands get skinned-off then re-establish the metal quality. She scowled at the utter pain of getting her magic forcefully sucked away from her.

“Steeeeiiinn!!!”

Lisa looked up at the sky as she heard the familiar voice. She cupped her hands by her mouth, forming a make-shift megaphone, “OVER HERE!!!” She shouted.

The wind grew stronger as the other person approached at a rapid speed. There was a blur of dirty white as the person landed just before them.

It was Luke who had a look of utter concern. He shook his head as he approached the two, “He was gone the moment I went back..!” He immediately reasoned, since he knew that Lisa was a good friend of Stein’s. He looked at Stein then back to Lisa, “I-I told him to stay in bed and wait while I get some medicine... but when I came back, he wasn’t there anymore..! Not even a single drop of blood helped me locate him..!”

Lisa just raised a hand to make Luke shut up, “It’s okay. I understand.” She suddenly hissed when she finally realized that her hands were bleeding.

Luke held her hands then gave a questioning stare.

“My cells can’t recuperate that fast...” She answered as she flicked her hand to remove the blood on her hand’s surface. She clicked her tongue upon seeing more bleeding, “I’m near my end if I continue this...”

Luke jerked up, “What?!” He exclaimed.

“I’ll grow old in an instant since I’m going to decay if I continue what I was doing...” She further explained then sighed, “Stein told you something about me, right?”

Luke hesitantly nodded his head, “You’re a succubus...”

“What else?”

Luke avoided eye contact as he stared at the ground as though it was the most wonderful thing in the world. He opened his mouth only to close it as he looked to the side. He shut his eyes close, “He said you’re a failure of a succubus..!” He weakly shouted.

Lisa turned her head to Stein who weakly nodded to confirm Luke’s words. She returned her gaze to Luke, “That’s correct. That’s also why Stein wants me out of his shop every time I visit.” She pushed Luke to the nearest tree, “I collect bodies then have Stein extract their seeds for me to eat.”

Luke was self-conscious of the space between them, “W-Wouldn’t that affect y-y-your health?!” He stammered.

“I know!” Lisa sarcastically answered back, “That’s why I’m not able to recuperate that fast!” She shook her head in dismay, “I know that!” She added then cursed at the side. She kicked the ground as she distanced herself from Luke, “Now I regret that I can’t help Stein!” She shouted.

The tree Stein was using to stand suddenly collapsed as it had all of its power sucked out.

Luke shouted in surprise as he saw how something so big fall just like that. He saw that there is a weird light surrounding Stein. He looked at Lisa for answers.

“Stein is gathering magic...” She said. Lisa looked at the opposite direction, “We need to get him there before sun down...” Lisa clicked her tongue, “But how?”

Luke gave Lisa a reassuring pat at her shoulder, “I’ll help.” He said as he took off his upper clothes.

Lisa raised a brow at Luke’s actions.

“I used to be a warrior, not a messenger.” He said as he revealed a firm body covered with multiple scars of battle, “It’s funny because as someone who served for peace, I only received a lowly position that didn’t seem to fit me...” He darkly chuckled as he threw his upper clothes to the ground. He gave an earnest smile, “I don’t need wings to soar the sky. I just need someone to make me feel like I’m in the sky...” He said as he transferred the tattoo shaped as wings to Stein.

The tattoo engraved on Stein’s skin.

Surprisingly enough, it didn’t get sucked in.

Luke saw Lisa’s bewildered look. He just tilted his head in confusion before answering, “As long as I’m in control, the magic is still mine. We’ve been taught how to do that in the military academy.” He snapped his fingers then wings formed on Stein’s back. Stein was lifted into mid air. Luke gave Lisa a commanding look, “I’ll run but I need you to be with Stein while in the sky. I can’t control when I can’t see him.”

Lisa just nodded as she spread her wings. She reformed her one hand back to a metal claw. She held Stein’s hand as she slowly started to move forward.

Luke noticed how Lisa deeply hissed upon contact with Stein. As Lisa started to fly off at a gradually increasing speed, Luke also started to run at the same pace as the two.

~o0o0o~

“We’ve walking for quite awhile now... Are there any signs of exits..?” Blind said.

Risette shook her head in dismay, “I don’t see anything that looks like one...” She looked around in hopes of finding one. She sighed again, “No luck...” She said.

A crooked chuckle resonated within the chambers of the cave, “I never would’ve thought that you’d manage to escape!!” The eerie chuckles grew louder and louder.

Risette felt a menacing aura behind her. She took a sharp 180 degrees to look at whatever was behind her.

Her eyes met with wide, crazy, deranged eyes, “He-he-he!!! Found you.” Gi took a big swing at Risette.

Blind took the blow.

“BLIND!!” Risette exclaimed. She received Blind’s body as he fell. She glared at the deranged necromancer, “WHY DO YOU KEEP DOING THIS?!”

Gi chuckled, “Bodies!!!” He shouted as he raised his hands in the air, “You have no idea how beautiful bodies are!!” He shouted. He exposed his upper part of the body. It was filled with different patches of skin. He darkly chuckled once more, “THESE are from different types of people! If I like them, I get them!!!!” He burst into a twisted laughing fit, “IT’S MAGNIFICENT!!”

Gi threw a rock by the walls of the cave then it turned jelly. Risette shrieked in horror at the sight of decaying dead people. She held back a hurl that was coming on then closed her eyes to keep herself from seeing anymore.

Gi’s deranged laugher grew louder, “BEAUTIFUL AREN’T THEY!???” He stalked over to Risette and Blind, “You two are next!”

Risette started to cry, “STEIN! Where are you?! Help me!!!” She shouted.

Gi watched in amusement, “Hmmm... No one can hear you little girl!” He said.

Risette just shook her head, “He will find me!” She said. Tears rolled down endlessly as she continued to cried, “I’m sure..! He will..!!” She suddenly coughed out blood.

She stared at the air in surprise. The she rolled down her eyes to see her chest armor then up to meet Gi’s eyes.

Gi let out a content smile, “I’m so sorry little miss, did I surprise you?” He knelt to Risette’s height, “What do you think of it?” He chuckled once more as he snapped her head, rendering her unconscious.

~o0o0o~

“Hey look at that!” One of the people shouted as he pointed at the sky. He urged one of his men to grab some binoculars to get some vision in the sky.

A lanky guy got the binoculars, “It’s the succubus, sir!!”

“Shoot her down!”

“WAIT!” The lanky guy shouted, much to his commander’s mood. He checked the sky once more to confirm what he saw, “She’s with the supervisor! They seem to be injured!”

Their commander immediately changed mood, “Prepare the medical kit!” He shouted. His ears picked up some distant shouting. He looked behind to see Luke running at an amazing speed, “WHY ARE YOU NAKED, SOLDIER?!”

Luke stopped on his tracks, bringing debris to the opposite direction. He apologized for that action then explained the circumstances, “The minion was telling the truth! Stein was with the succubus! I forgot to wear my clothes! Please release Lisa’s minion before she gets here!”

The commander raised a brow at the last statement, “How did you know that we caught a minion..?” He carefully asked.

Luke spluttered at the first moment then, “I saw one headed here while I was looking for Stein...”

The commander increased his suspicion, “You interacted with the minion?”

Luke answered with mixed emotions, “Yes.”

The commander looked at the sky which urged Luke to look up as well.

Stein and Lisa were falling.

Luke retracted his wings from Stein then shot up to the sky. Luke saw how Lisa’s hand was burned and pruned as though time was taken away from it. Stein on the other hand, he was profusely bleeding again.

Lisa’s wings dissolved into thin air as she completely lost her consciousness. Luke first grabbed her by the abdomen. He tightened the fist of his free hand then formed a protective barrier from there up to his shoulder. He used that free hand to grab Stein by the abdomen as well. He hissed in pain upon contact with Stein and his arm.

He slowly landed to the ground while carefully holding on the two people in his arms. He gently put the two on the ground then proceeded to feeling the rest of the pain on his left arm.

The medics came on time and help tend to the injuries of Stein and Lisa.

“DON’T” Luke shouted, making the medics stop on their tracks. He let out a deep breath, “You’ll get your magic sucked out if you treat Stein’s injuries now.” He exclaimed. The medics then decided to treat the succubus instead, only to be stopped Luke again, “She’ll unconsciously attack you if you even try to touch her!” He said.

With that, the medics shrugged then went away.

The commander went to Luke’s side, “YOU IDIOTS!” He shouted at the medics, “YOU’RE NOT GOING TO TEND THE RESCUER?!” He exclaimed.

Luke awkwardly chuckled as he watched the medics scurry to his direction. He closed his eyes in a comical manner, “You could’ve just talked to them properly, Gale...”

The commander, Gale, just snapped his head to the side, “I’m not so soft like the other guy.”

“Ha...ha... You hurt me.”

Gale just simply ignored.

The medics cringed at the sight of Luke’s horrendous injury. One of the medics poked him at the side, making Luke shriek at a not-so-manly manner. Luke awkwardly looked at the imp who poked him at the side, “Yes?”

“S’pain huurtsss.”

Luke wasn’t so sure how to react, “Yeah... It hurts..!” He said as he had his uninjured hand hover over the injury.

The imp followed the movement of Luke’s free hand then slapped it down.

“AAHHHH WHHY?!” He shouted as he crunched into fetal position. He glared at the imp which somehow reminded him of Stein’s slimes. He shook his head in a disappointed manner as he stared at the imp, “Why would you do that?!” He silently said.

The imp didn’t understand Luke’s actions, “Huuuurtssss.”

Luke suddenly looked sceptical, “YES! YES I AM!” He let out a devastated sigh then looked at Gale, “Who would be stupid enough to hire imps as medics?!”

Gale let out a dark grin, “I’m so sorry about that.”

Luke instantly paled as he knew what Gale’s reaction meant, “I am so sorry myself...” He slowly back pedalled away from Gale as he knew what was coming next, “Who knew right?!” He tried to reason.

Gale just grabbed the gauze tape from another imp’s hand then wrapped it around Luke’s wrists despite having an injury in that area.

“OW! OW! OW! OW!!!! STOP!!!” Luke cried.

Gale dropped the tape on the spot as he gave Luke a sadistic grin, “You’re lucky that you’re a friend.”

“I’m grateful! I’m grateful! I’m grateful! NOW REMOVE THESE TAPE AND GET OFF ME!” Luke shouted then paled upon noticing the fault in his words.

Gale slowly removed the tape around his wrists, savouring Luke’s cry for the slow removal. It was the longest slow removal of tape in Luke’s life as he knew that there were around two more revolutions left until the tape was completely removed.

By the time the tape was completely removed, Luke was already half dead, “Thanks you bastard...”

“I know. I’m nice, don’t praise me.” Gale callously replied.

Luke just tiredly shook his head, “I’m not, so shut up..!”

The imp went to Luke’s side, “Huuurrttsssss.”

“I KNOW!” Luke shouted as-a-matter-of-fact.

The imp slapped the injury.

“AAAAHHHH!!!!” Luke shouted as he rolled at the ground in sheer pain.

The imp looked at his hand that had Luke’s blood on it, “AHHHH!!!” He showed it to the other imps, “AAAHHH!!”

The remaining imps also shouted as the spread around the area, “AAAAAHHHH!!”

“SHUT UP!!!”

For a moment it seemed as though the world shook even though it didn’t.

Lisa got up and saw the current situation. She glared at the thin air then looked at the poor state of her hand. She glanced around to know where she was. Then her eyes landed on a pain-stricken Luke, “Hey.”

Luke instantly responded to Lisa’s voice, “Yeah?”

The moment Luke was in full view, Lisa finally saw the state of Luke’s other arm, “How did you get that?”

“This?” Luke raised the injured arm. He gave a poor smile, “You two were falling from the sky and I was the only one who had wings in the vicinity, so I rescued both of you...” He said as he looked to the side with an unsure face. He looked around to find the right words, “I... I almost got a heart attack when I saw you two fall right out of the sky...” He covered his face with his free hand.

“Luke..?” Lisa slowly asked. She got up then slowly made her way to Luke. She wasn’t sure whether he was shivering in anger or whatever, “H-hey... Are you alright..?” She said as she touched Luke’s shoulder. She mentally hissed at Luke’s attained injury starting from his fingertip up to his shoulder.

“Please go away!” Luke shouted.

“Why?”

“You might laugh at me so please go away..!” Luke pleaded.

“Choose. Me getting angry or me laughing.”

“Neither...” Luke weakly responded.

Lisa sighed, “None of us would die even if we did fell from the sky.” She reasoned as she tried to pry off Luke’s hand that was covering his face. She huffed, “Come on, sissy! Just show me your face already!” After that one powerful yank, she saw that Luke was trying to contain his tears.

Luke shoved his free hand to cover Lisa’s face this time, “I look weird right?! So please don’t look!” He shouted as he hid his face the opposite direction, “I don’t know about you but I have a great fear for the loss of life! That’s why I quit right after extermination!” He added.

“LOOK AT ME!” Lisa shouted.

As commanded, Luke immediately responded. He felt like he had sunk into the deepest part of the ocean, “L... Lisa..?” He slowly said.

Lisa was wrinkled all over and her overflowing golden hair was slowly shifting to white. Her hand that was used to help guide Stein in the sky was all skin tight to the bones, “I already told you that I’m nearing my end.” She said then spared a glance at Stein who was probably taking the chance to refresh himself. She played a stare down with Luke, “Which is better, a few sacrifices or a billion casualties?”

Luke looked perplexed but answered nonetheless, “Few sacrifices of course...”

A part of Lisa’s hair turned white, “Then we need to get to the cave.”

Luke shook his head rather dejectedly then flustered over their circumstances, “We can’t possibly go inside injured!” He scratched his head, “Stein’s on the verge of colossal destruction, you’re near your end, and I’m unable to be of any help with man power.” He shot a helpless look at Lisa, “What can we injured people do inside there?”

“The few sacrifices.” Lisa simply answered.

Luke shook his head in rejection of the idea, “N-No..!” He firmly held Lisa’s shoulder with her free hand, “That means losing you!”

“AND IT ALSO MEANS LOSING YOU!” She shot back. She gave look a helpless glare, “I don’t know about you but I have a great deal of debt with that person over there!” She stepped forward, causing Luke to also take a step back, “Why are you so selfish?!” She shouted as she took another step forward, which made Luke take a step back, “All you do is think of your happiness while I think about the future of the underlings I have!” She took another step, causing Luke to take a step back and falling over. Lisa straddled over Luke then closed the proximity of their faces, “They may not be accepted in this place, but they’re the only family I’ve got!”

Luke flashed a sorry look, “I told Stein once that I go home before sundown so that my mom wouldn’t worry...” He gave a dark chuckle, “Did you know that they live six feet under the ground?” He gently pushed off the dumbstruck Lisa, “They died during the extermination...” He gently pet Lisa’s head, “You may not be accepted in this place, but you’re the only world I’ve got...” He gently said. Luke chuckled in a good manner, “I have the fear of losing life, remember..?”

Lisa just stood still as she let Luke caress her hair. She deeply sighed, “FINE!!” She blurted out as she charged for Luke’s lips.

“?!”

The spectators, Gale and the soldiers in particular, were long gone since they obviously knew the turns of event.

Lisa’s glow gradually returned and her body formation slowly went back to how it looked. Luke’s left part of the body also healed slowly but surely. As they parted, both bodies were completely back to normal. Lisa smirked at Luke’s glowing red face, “Congrats! You’re my first kiss during my 25 years of existence!”

“I’M YOU’RE FIRST?!” He spluttered. He looked at Lisa’s reformed body and his body. Then he looked back at Lisa for some answers.

“I’m the queen succubus—well, the new one since my mom passed away after giving birth to me...” Lisa started, “If you give me something, I’ll return something.” She looked up with a slight tint of pink on her features, “This time, I got a connection from to replenish myself. In exchange, I fixed your body...”

“I-I see...” Luke dumbly replied.

The earth suddenly shook violently.

Lisa dashed for Stein then held his hand to prevent him from falling into the sinkhole Stein made. Lisa failed to convert her hand to metal claw, which made her hiss in agony at the direct contact with Stein. Luke jumped into the sinkhole then grabbed Stein by the armpits. Luke swiftly flew back to the surface then lay down Stein back to the ground.

Both people hissed as they felt their skin get peeled off. Lisa’s injury faded away after awhile and Luke’s faded a tad bit slower than Lisa.

“We need to get Stein inside as fast as possible!” Lisa shouted. She watched Luke transfer his wings back to Stein.

Luke bravely touched Stein so he could be up on his feet, “Listen, right infront of you is a mirage barrier!” He started, “The moment we start walking is also the start of an endless path!”

Stein forcefully looked up and shook his head to reject Luke’s idea. He weakly pointed at the thin air, “Not... mirage...” He weakly declared as he heavily breathed out. By then, Luke had already let go of Stein since the wings were helping him stand. Stein slowly walked a few steps forward. He stopped infront of the dead space then placed his hand there. Cracks accumulated in that very space then grew larger and larger until it broke off like a large piece of mirror. Another mirror broke just before them.

It turned out to be a teleporting barrier—which made them realize that they were just walking the same path over and over.

Before them revealed a large cave that separated into three ways. Luke went in first, “I’ll fix it...” He said. He closed his hands to a tight fist. The air pressure around him grew heavier. His vein became more evident as he mustered his strength to his fists.

He punched the cave’s three separating walls with sheer power and air pressure. It was supposed to crumble if not for the high-pitched screech that countered it. Luke fell down at the intensity of the volume. His ears ringed in agony then he looked at Lisa and Stein.

Lisa was also agonized by the intense volume. Stein though, greatly responded to the screech.

“R-Risette...” Stein murmured.

The harsh screech appeared again, this time Luke wasn’t able to guard it—which left him deaf for a few seconds. The ground shook violently again.

Stein coughed out blood.

“STEIN!” Lisa and Luke shouted.

Stein just weakly shook his head then pointed at the middle path.

It was ‘that’ way.